I was surprised by Shapiro’s quote on chestnut. I was under the impression that invertebrate species were lost as a result of the American chestnut’s demise. The IUCN redlists as extinct five insects – known to be related to chestnut. They are Argyresthia castanella, Ectoedemia castaneae, Ectoedemia phleophaga, Tischeria perplexa, and Swammerdamia castaneae. Seven were red-listed as extinct but two of those – Synanthedon castaneae and Coleophora leucochrysella – were subsequently found.

The discrepancy doesn’t diminish an excellent article. I mention it more because I have often quoted the extinction correlation and wonder the source of Professor Shapiro’s remarks.

http://www.iucnredlist.org

http://ctacf.org/index.cfm/2009/12/12/Chestnut-and-Invertebrate-Extinctions